Apparatus for threading a hinge pin through interdigitated loops of belt fasteners

ABSTRACT

An object of the invention is to provide a guide means for propelling a threading member for a flexible hinge pin through the interdigitated loops of belt fasteners in order to join belt ends together. A further object of the invention is to provide a method of threading the flexible hinge pin through the loops of the fasteners. One form of guide means for achieving these objects comprises a support plate for the underneath of the fasteners and a roller for contacting the top surface of the fasteners so as to act on an abutment on the threading member and so propel it through the loops, the roller being mounted at the trailing end of the guide means on an arm which is fixed to he support plate at the leading end of the guide means. Another form of guide means comprises one or more rollers for supporting the underneath of the fasteners and one or more rollers for contacting the top surface of the fasteners so as to act on the abutment of the threading member, the rollers being mounted at or adjacent to the trailing end of the guide means on arms extending from a body portion of the guide means. The guide means may be arranged to interdigitate the loops in advance of the threading member.

Fryatt 1541 APPARATUS FOR THREADING A HINGE PIN THROUGH INTERDIGITATED LOOPS OF BELT FASTENERS [75] Inventor: Leslie Alva Fryatt, l-luncoat, En-

gland [73] Assignee: Mastabar Beltfasteners Limited,

Lancashire, England [22] Filed: July 22, 1969 '21 App1.No.: 843,601

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 26, 1968 Great Britain ..35,695/68 Dec. 17, 1968 Great Britain ..59,907/68 [52] U.S. C1 ..29/241, 29/433, 24/33 R, 24/205.15 R {51] Int. Cl. ..B23p 19/04 [58] Field of Search ..29/433, 241; 24/20] A, 205.15R, 205.15 E; 81/367 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,343,827 3/1944 Beckwith ..29/433 3,078,558 2/1963 Langwell ..29/433 3,234,637 2/1966 McMahon. ..29/433 2,251,137 7/1941 Kay ..24/205.15 R 2,296,831. 9/1942 Bloxsom ..24/205.l5 R 2,325,709 8/1943 Samstegman... .....24/205.15 R

2,496,820 2/1950 Smith ..24/205.15 R 2,736,079 2/1956 Staller ..24/205.l5 R 3,572,191 3/1971 Bannies ..24/205.15 E

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 312,621 5/1929 Great Britain 2 1/205 613,897 9/1926 France ..24/205.15 507,975 9/1930 Germany ..24/205.l5

Primary ExaminerCharlie T. Moon Att0mey-Beveridge & De Grandi 57 ABSTRACT An object of the invention is to provide a guide means for propelling a threading member for a flexible hinge pin through the interdigitated loops of belt fasteners in order to join belt ends together.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of threading the flexible hinge pin through the loops of the fasteners.

Another form of guide means comprises one or more rollers for supporting the underneath of the fasteners and one or more rollers for contacting the top surface of the fasteners so as to act on the abutment of the threading member, the rollers being mounted at or adjacent to the trailing end of the guide means on arms extending from a body portion of the guide means.

The guide means may be arranged to interdigitate the loops in advance of the threading member.

10 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMY 81m 3.731.365

SHEET 1 0F 4 FIG].

f QM INVENTOR: LESLIE ALVA FR/H-r-r PATENIED MAY 8 i973 SHEET 2 []F 4 WWWW ZLMA APFARATUS FUR THREADHNG A. HENGE PIN THRUUGH TNTERIDIGETATEID LOOPS F EELT FASTENERS This invention relates to fasteners of the type used for joining together the ends of conveyor belts.

A common arrangement is that in which the fasteners, for example wire hook fasteners, are inserted in any two belt ends to be joined so that the fasteners project from each belt end in a series of loops. The belt ends are joined together by means of a connecting pin or hinge pin passing through both series of loops.

Before the pin can be passed through both series of loops, the loops projecting from the two belt ends must be interdigitated (or interengaged), and this procedure together with the threading of flexible pins through the loops can be time consuming in the case of wide belts. Consequently, there is need for a method of connecting belt fasteners together quickly and easily, particularly in the case of belts for the paper making industry where joints are up to 30 feet wide and the work of connecting the fasteners has often to be done near hot rollers and in awkward situations. The usual procedure is for one man to hold the hooks in mesh whilst another pushes a steel wire through the loops. This procedure is continued along the whole width of the belt, which, as indicated above, can be 30 feet. The procedure is difficult as the wire is only about 3/32 inch diameter. When the wire is through all the loops, the actual hinge pin must be pulled through the loops by attaching it to the wire, the hinge pin being too soft and pliable to be pushed through in the first instance.

According to the present invention, the flexible hinge pin is attached to a threading member which is propelled through the interdigitated loops of the fasteners by guide means externally contacting the loops on both side of the belt, the threading member being shaped to provide an abutment on which the guide means act.

The invention includes a method of threading the hinge pin through the loops using the threading member and guide means. The invention also includes the guide means per se. Preferably the guide means are arranged to interdigitate the loops in advance of the threading member.

The threading member may conveniently take the form of a bent needle. Preferably the needle is in three portions; leading and trailing portions, which are parallel to one another, and an intermediate portion, inclined to the leading and trailing portions and forming the abutment for the guide means.

The guide means may comprise a support plate for the underneath of the fasteners and a roller for contacting the top surface of the fasteners so as to act on the abutment of the threading member, e.g., the intermediate portion of the needle, the roller being mounted at the trailing end of the guide means on an arm which is fixed to the support plate at the leading end of the guide means. Preferably the roller arm is fixed to the support plate by means of a wedge member which also serves to interdigitate the loops of the fasteners (in the manner of a zip-fastener) when the guide means are pulled across the width of the belt ends to thread the hinge pin through the loops.

An alternative form of guide means comprises one or more rollers for supporting the underneath of the fasteners and one or more rollers for contacting the top surface of the fasteners so as to act on the abutment of the threading member, e.g., the intermediate portion of the needle, the rollers being mounted at or adjacent to the trailing end of the guide means on arms extending from a body portion of the guide means.

The body portion is preferably provided with grooves arranged to interdigitate the loops of the fasteners before the fasteners reach the rollers carried by the arms. The grooves preferably start at different levels at the leading end of the guide means and converge towards the trailing end.

The body portion of the guide means may also carry means for supporting and locating the belt edges while the fasteners are being interdigitated and these means may include rollers.

Alternatively, a holding device may be located between the grooves and the rollers to hold the interdigitated loops of the fasteners in interengagement. The holding device may be provided with means for bringing the belt edges closer together as they pass through the holding device so as to ensure maximum interengagement of the loops of the fasteners. Such means may take the form of flanges which taper towards the trailing end of the guide means and act upon the hooks of the fasteners as they pass through the holding device. The flanges may penetrate the belt edges slightly so as to facilitate their action on the books of the fasteners, which are embedded in the belt edges.

The invention will now be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the guide means in operation,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the guide means in operation,

FIG. 3 is a section through a belt joint,

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of an alternative form of guide means,

FIG. 5 is a leading end view of the guide means shown in FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of another form of guide means,

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the guide means shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8 is a section on the line 8 8 ofFlG. 6.

In the drawings, like numbers refer to like parts.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a bent needle 4, 5, 6 is first pushed into the loops of the fasteners 7 of a small section of joint at one side of a pair of belt ends 8, 8 which it is desired to join together, the loops of the small section having been meshed by hand so that they interdigitate as shown at the right hand side of FIG. 2 to permit the bent needle to pass through both sets of loops. The bent needle is in three portions; leading and trailing portions 4 and 6, which are parallel to one another, and an intermediate portion 5 which is inclined at an angle of to the leading and trailing portions. The trailing portion 6 is provided with an eye to which the pliable hinge pin 9 is attached, the hinge pin being a double thickness of a flexible material such as nylon cord.

The guide means are then placed in position as shown in FIGS. '1 and 2. The guide means comprise a support plate 10 supporting the underside of the fasteners and a roller arm 11 disposed above the fasteners. The roller arm 11 carries a roller l2 which contacts the fasteners. The roller arm 111 is pivotally mounted on the support plate 10 by means of a wedgeshaped connecting piece 13. The roller arm is also provided with a handle 14.

The handle 14 is used to pull the guide means across the width of the belt ends in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 to form the joint. The roller 12 acts on the portion 5 of the needle (which is inclined at 45 to the center line of the joint) and causes the needle to be pulled through the loops of the fasteners, thus threading the hinge pin 9 through the loops of the fasteners, the hinge pin 9 being pulled through double. As "will be seen from FlG. 1, the-support plate 10 is shaped to sup port the portion 5 of the needle when it is acted on by the roller.

In FIG. 3, a section through the resulting belt joint is shown. The points of the fasteners 7 are clenched into the belt ends 8 and the fasteners project to form interdigitated loops 16 through both sets of which the flexible hinge pin 9 passes.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, a body portion in the form of a block 17 carries arms 18 and 19 on which are mounted rollers 2 1i. Grooves 21 are located in opposite sides of the block 17. These grooves start at different levels at the leading end of the guide means and converge in the direction of the arms 18 and 19. The two grooves unite at the point 22.

The block 17' also caries abutment means 23 and rol lers 24 for supporting and locating the belt edges. The belting shown in FIG. 5 is of the felt and webbing type and is shown at the right-hand side only. The webbing 25 is stitched to the felt 26 and carries the fastener loops 27. The webbing 25 has a free edge 25a abutting the support 23 and facilitating location of the belt. The felt 26 is located between the support 23 and the roller 24 and the fastener loops 27 are located in the grooves 21.

The guide means are provided with a handle 28 attached to the block 17. The arm 18 is mounted on the block 17 so that the top rollers 20 can be swung clear for assembly purposes and the arm is held in the position shown during operation by means of a turn button The operation of the guide means shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is analogous to that described with reference to F 1165. 1 and 2. The grooves 21 serve to interdigitate the loops 27 of the fasteners in the two belt edges to be joined; the upper rollers 20, attached to the arm 18, serve the same function as the roller 12 of FIG. 1 and the lower rollers 20, attached to the arm 19, have the same function as the plate 10 of FIG. 1 but permit smoother operation of the guide means.

The guide means shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 differ from those shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in that the arrangement of supports 23 and rollers 24 is omitted and a holding device is provided between the point 22 where the grooves 21 unite and the rollers 20. This holding device comprises holding members 30, which are secured to the arms 18 and 19 by pins 31. The holding members carry flanges 32, which taper towards the trailing end of the guide means (FIG. 6).

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale on the line 8 8 of FIG. 6 and also shows the positions of the belt ends 8 and fasteners 7 as they pass through the holding device after leaving the grooves 21 and before reaching the rollers 20. The flanges 32 abut the hooks 15 of the fasteners and thus hold the loops 16 of the fasteners in interengagement. The taper of the flanges 32 causes the belt edges 8 to be brought closer together as they pass through the holding device and thus ensures maximum interengagernent of the loops 16 when they reach the rollers 20. The flanges 32 penetrate the belt edges 8 slightly and thus facilitate the abutment of the hooks 15 by the flanges 32;

I claim:

1. Apparatus for propelling a threading member for a flexible hinge pin through the interdigitated loops of beltfasteners wherein said threading member has an inclined portion comprising: a threading member, a support means for supporting the bottoms of said fasteners, said support means having an inclined portion corresponding to the inclined portion of said threading member, at least a roller attached to a first roller arm for contacting the tops of said fasteners and said inclined portion of said threading member when said threading member is inserted in said loops, and means connecting said support means with said roller arm, whereby when said apparatus is moved in the direction of loops to be threaded said roller acts on said inclined portion of said threading member to propel said threading member through said loops.

2. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein said connecting means is also means for interdigitating said loops.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said support means is a second roller arm having at least a roller thereon for contacting the bottoms of said fasteners.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said first roller arm has an inclined portion corresponding to the inclined portion of said threading member.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said connecting means is also means for interdigitating said loops.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said connecting means is a body member having a pair of grooves therein at different levels at the end of said body member which is away from said roller arms and converging to the same level to form a single groove at the end of said body member which is closest to said roller arms whereby the loops of beltfasteners connectedto a pair of belt ends which are inserted in the pair of grooves will become interdigitated at the converging single groove.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said connecting means further has located thereon means for supporting and positioning a pair of belt ends inserted in said pair of grooves.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said means for supporting and positioning comprises a pair of units being located at different levels on said body member, each unit comprising a roller and an abutment means for gripping a belt end therebetween.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein a holding means is located between said single converging groove on said body member and said rollers, to ensure maximum interdigitation of said beltfasteners.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said holding means comprises a pair of body members spaced from each other, each body member having thereon a pair of flanges which converge in the direction toward said rollers, so that said belt ends may be held between said flanges on said body members, and said converging flanges may direct said belt loop fasteners into maximum interdigitation in the direction of said rollers.

11 m :h t 5 

1. Apparatus for propelling a threading member for a flexible hinge pin through the interdigitated loops of beltfasteners wherein said threading member has an inclined portion comprising: a threading member, a support means for supporting the bottoms of said fasteners, said support means having an inclined portion corresponding to the inclined portion of said threading member, at least a roller attached to a first roller arm for contacting the tops of said fasteners and said inclined portion of said threading member when said threading member is inserted in said loops, and means connecting said support means with said roller arm, whereby when said apparatus is moved in the direction of loops to be threaded said roller acts on said inclined portion of said threading member to propel said threading member through said loops.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said connecting means is also means for interdigitating said loops.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said support means is a second roller arm having at least a roller thereon for contacting the bottoms of said fasteners.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said first roller arm has an inclined portion corresponding to the inclined portion of said threading member.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said connecting means is also means for interdigitating said loops.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said connecting means is a body member having a pair of grooves therein at different levels at the end of said body member which is away from said roller arms and converging to the same level to form a single groove at the end of said body member which is closest to said roller arms whereby the loops of beltfasteners connected to a pair of belt ends which are inserted in the pair of grooves will become interdigitated at the converging single groove.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said connecting means further has located thereon means for supporting and positioning a pair of belt ends inserted in said pair of grooves.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said means for supporting and positioning comprises a pair of units being located at different levels on said body member, each unit comprising a roller and an abutment means for gripping a belt end therebetween.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein a holding means is located between said single converging groove on said body member and said rollers, to ensure maximum interdigitation of said beltfasteners.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said holding means comprises a pair of body members spaced from each other, each body member having thereon a pair of flanges which converge in the direction toward said rollers, so that said belt ends may be held between said flanges on said body members, and said converging flanges may direct said belt loop fasteners into maximum interdigitation in the direction of said rollers. 